half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(-ə)r-lē 

ˈhäf-

adverb or adjective

Examples of half hour in a Sentence

Trains depart every half hour.

I waited a half hour in line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, more than 2 million juniors and seniors took the exam, a two-and-a-half hour ordeal consisting of 44 questions in the math section and 54 in the reading-and-writing section. —The Week Us, TheWeek, 22 June 2026

Goose resumed playing a half hour after the incident. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 22 June 2026

Rescue efforts took about two and a half hours, and the cause of the collapse is still under investigation, per the outlet. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026

The inaugural flight took place from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in France, where test pilot Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and copilot Fabrice Dougnac lifted off aboard the Falcon 10X for a mission lasting approximately two and a half hours. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for half hour

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• our
• power
• scour
• shower
• sour

Kids Definition

half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(ə)r-lē, 

ˈhȧf-

adverb or adjective